Til! v ////7'. 



5 i -; 



FI:..M tiin.. im IKKI- has been subjected to the ways of mnnkiml, and has 



pio\Jd.-d him with meat ami clothing, as well as with many articles ,,f domestic u- The 



whole ramise of Ifce Sheep is as useful :1 , that ..f ill.- o V ;md theie i I a sjngl,. |,n j, ,i, 



its Unix that is not con\er!.-d to soi.ie U-ii.-ticial pur|>ose. The animal u* \\<- now pomes.* it, 



and which lia.s diverged into 



such innumerable \aiii-ti.-s, 



is iii-n-r f<.iin<l in a state of 



absolute w Mil ness, and has 



evidently deii\ed its origin 



fiinii siiine hitherto undoines 



ti.-ated s|,,.cj,.s. In tl i>in 



ion of main naturalists, the 

 Munition may lay claim to the 

 jwn-ntage of 0111 domestic 

 Sheep. l>nt othi-r w i it.-r-, have 



-.I'.'::.-: ' ! ..,'!.,>:':. .'i: 



ill-' Shff|i. and |>la--<l tlu-m 

 in a dinVivnt u r '-nii-. 



In many of its hal>it>. 

 s|H-<-ially in its nx-k -limit- 

 ing i-i'.|'ii-iti.-s. it bean a 

 strong rraeniHaiuv to th.- 

 Ooats, to ulii.-!i animals it ia 

 doselyalli'-d. \Vh.-n.-v.-rth.' 



tl.M-k <-an have access to elevated .spots, they may always be .seen peirht-d ii|M>n the highest 

 and most ]>ivri]>itoiis siKt.s, and seem to take a curious plea.sun* in i-xjMisin^ thfins<lvi-s to th<- 

 risk of U-iiii.' dash'il to i>ii-^e. 



Although tli- S!i.-.], is ir.-ncp.illy considered to be a timid animal, and is really so wh.-n 

 foi.-.-d into adv.-rse cin-iimstances and deprived of its wontfd liU'rty, it is tnily as bold an 

 animal as ran \\.-ll U- s,^-!!, mid civcs many proofs of its rnurap-. If. for -\aiiipl*-. a tRiv.-lli-r 

 comes 1 1 n> '\iK-ctedly u\*m a flock of the little Sheep that ran^e the mountains, th.-y \sill not 

 tl.-.- from his pivs-ii<--, l.iit dniw together into a compact body, and \vat-h him with st.-rn and 

 nnyi.-ldinggaze. Should li- att4-ni]it to advance, he would lie instantly assailed by the nuns, 

 whi'-h form the first Hn- in such cases, and would fare but foully in the encounter. A dog, if 

 it should happen to accompany the intruder, would prolwbly IK? at once charged and driven 

 from the spot. 



Kx.-n a single ram is no mean antagonist wh-n h<- is thoroughly irritat-d, and his charge 

 is really formidable, sheep differ from Goats in their mann-r of tiglitini; : tin- latt-i animals 

 rear themselves on their hind legs, and then plunge sideways upon their adversary, while tin- 

 form, -r animals hurl themselves forward, and strik.- th.-ir o|.]Kn.-nt with tin- whole weight as 

 \\.-ll as impetus of the body. So terrible is tin- shock of a nun's rharge, that it has been known 

 to prostrate a bull at the first blow. Nor is the Sheep only combative when irritated by oppo- 

 sition, or when danger threatens itself. A Sheep that had IM-.-II l.-d into a slaughter house, 

 li is U-en known to turn fiercelj M on i h-- butcher as he t :-.:'' it to kill on. ol ttSOOBpurfOM^ 

 and to butt him severely in order to make him relinquish his grasp of its fri-ud. 



The SII.-.-P does not si-em to be SO intelligent a.s the (Joat. and lias a curious habit of always 

 following the individual who happ-ns to IM- the leader, even though he should rush into 

 danger. A herd of sheep has jumped successively over the top of a pn-<-ipiv. merely because 

 the leader happened to do the same thing. In the East, when- the si lead, not drive. 



the Sheep, they take advantage of this projN-nsity. in inanairini: the \ast tl.M-ks over which 

 they are set in charge. They have a few |-t Sheep which will follow at their heels, and come 

 to tin- musical call of the shepherd's flute. These privileged animals act UK the leaders of the 

 and wherever they go, the rest will follow. 



The sheep breeds freely, producing generally one or two lambs every year, and sometimes 



